Sandra777

Tongue, not usually because it's too yummy The only thing I would suggest is that for a small dog or one not very experienced with raw food, you might have to peel the toughest bit off the tongue, or perhaps just cut into it so the dog figures out there's something underneath that rough exterior. Cheek is a dog food staple, not a biggy but can be tough. Both are muscle meats.

If you turn up with lots of photos and references the breeder will probably start wondering what you have to hide. You're going to meet someone who is passionate about dogs, just pretend it's a DOL meet Don't get dressed up, your dog-visiting! Once you get there you'll probably think of lots of questions to ask - mostly about the dogs in front of you. Be prepared to be bombarded with pet names, achievements, quirks and habits, you won't remember most of it when you go home. I would visit a couple of other breeders just so you have something to compare with....unless you have really good references for this breeder from some people you know?

I would not be positioning myself beside him for a start Stop, encourage him to come back to you and assume the position you want, praise for coming back/being with you. Everytime he pulls, you stop until he's in position (so the walk stops when he pulls). Nope, you don't get very long walks to begin with. I would also allow him plenty of "free time" when he can walk infront or beside or behind you (not pulling), not constantly at your side - it is his walk afterall! Maybe start with 10 seconds of him walking at heel (I know you don't mean the competition style heel) then 30 seconds of "walk where you like as long as it's nice", then 10 seconds of heel. Depends what your ultimate aim is - for now it's stopping the pulling, but later do you want a competition heel?

IMO wings and necks are pretty puny food for a Amstaff puppy. Have you considered either Turkey necks if you really want to feed necks, or chicken carcases. I would feed a Stafford puppy (so smaller than an Amstaff) about 150g of food as a mid-day snack. You can make this up out of anything you like. Green leafy veges are good, they need to be whizzed in a blender/processor. Avoid starchy root vegetables at this stage as they're good fillers but not so great for nutrition. Carrots are often appreciated as a snack. Zucchini goes down well here, I wouldn't be feeding any bull breed dog cabbage I wouldn't be worried about him choaking, but the fact that he's swallowing them isn't great - not because of any inherent problem with the fibres, but who knows what's in the dye! I wouldn't continue to use this as a tug toy.

I'm sorry - I find it impossible to even imagine an 18 inch Staffordshire Bull Terrier weighing 36kg "in prime" IMO he would have been grossly obese or a cross bred to weigh much more than 25kg at that height, at at 25kg he would have had to have been hugely over boned to be a pure bred Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Your new puppy does not look like a pure bred Staffordshire Bull Terrier to me and that has nothing to so with his size.

Agree with the above. Justin has established himself as the boss of the household and dislikes you (the underling) "daring" to leave his sight or confining him where he doesn't want to be... Get a trainer to come to your house and look at the issues, but at his age it really shouldn't be too difficult to change his view of the world. Good luck!

Hiya MM - our old girl (China's gran who went to the bridge at nearly 16) had no vaccs at all after the age of 2. We had boarding kennels, took her to shows all over the place, she changed countries and back again. Not even kennel cough. I wouldn't vaccinate her, but if you worry then perhaps a titre test.

SamNWinstons Human grade mince won't have bone in it. The chicken pet-mince includes bone (it's minced up bodies) which is why it is a different colour. It is also better for the dog - meat is not the natural food of a dog - meat & bone is what nature intended them to eat OP - your puppy, your choice. If your pup is doing well and you are happy with what you're feeding, then that's the right food for your pup.

Dried liver, dried heart, Beef/lamb Jerky, - home made of course LOL. Tiny pieces of cheese. I give in and use kibble as treats - like junk food for my girls LOL. When I'm feeling enthusiastic I make them liver cake - whizz up liver in the blender, add enough flour (rice flour, wheat flour, whatever) to make it into a scone-dough consistency. Add an egg and/or a spoon of minced garlic if you want to. Spread about 1cm thick on a baking sheet and cook on a low temp until quite dry. You can cut this into tiny bits and pull off finger-nail-fuls too. Keeps forever in the freezer. Can use tinned fish instead of liver, but too smelly for me!

That definitely doesn't look right! Has she had a vet check - thinking thyroid or a hormonal problem.

Ouch having to get up so often during the night, but definitely worth it in the long run. Some pups get the physical ability to hold on before others, and I guess your girl is one of the slow ones. If she's allowed to get conditioned now to peeing in her bed it'll become a really hard habit to break, so getting up in the night is one way of solving it - but if that becomes all too much can you attach her crate to a small playpen so she can get away from her bed to pee? This would stop the habit of peeing in her bed from forming, allow you to sleep and give her time to develop the physical ability to hold on.

I would agree that the pumpkin carrot etc are just filling him up - they're not FOOD. 450g of food for an 8kg puppy is about half of what he should be getting, puppies need at least 10% of their current body weight. I've never used premade barf but wonder if the instructions are for adult dogs hopefully there are also instructions for puppies?? Get back to the breeder with your questions, obviously they've raised GSD pups on raw before so probably have a better idea than many of us on the requirements of their breed. Didn't they give you a diet sheet?

You might well find that when the pup comes along your old dog will take more of an interest in things like bones. At the moment he doesn't have any competition for them when they're offered so probably doesn't really bother with them too much. What you've been feeding has worked so stick with it if you want to.

I hope you're not buying him off someone who refers to their dogs as "english staffys" in the trading post - virtually certain sign they are a BYB. If in doubt ask them about the DNA tests the parents have had - if they don't know what you are talking about run like the wind............... That sounds better! But I still urge you to reconsider leaving him loose in the back yard when you're not home.

He won't be reliable about using the dog door at 8 weeks, so don't expect the fact that it's there to help his house training at all. He doesn't need to be let out every 2 or 3 hours overnight - at 8 weeks if he is warm tired and well fed he will probably sleep without any accidents for about 6 hours straight. Staffordshire Bull Terriers (not "english"!) are a very poor choice for an outside dog. If he's not given the chance to be part of the family he will be extremely miserable, will destroy your yard and quite likely eat half the outside of the house. Have a re-think about that please. Yes, he can be outside when you're at work but I wouldn't be leaving him loose in the yard then either, invest in a large dog run or work out how you can fence off part of the property which does NOT adjoin the boundary fence. Staffords are very popular with dog thieves and extremely easy to steal as they will go with anyone, so need to be kept well out of harm's way when you can't be home. I would suggest you contact the breeder and ask for their diet sheet before you pick up your boy so you can have the supplies on hand. Enjoy!

Yes, I've heard this as a reason to NOT clean up when the pup can see you, but never believed it makes any difference. I wouldn't be too concerned, consistency works well, pysco-analysis will just drive you nuts.

Wow - inside zoomies with something that size. No thanks :D I won't even let the little people (13-15kg fully grown) do indoor zoomies, let alone a Deerhound! Is it possible to give her shorter but more frequent exercise and training so she doesn't have all that pent up energy to let out in? Then again, zoomies are not necessarily about exercise, at our house it's more about the sheer joy of the moment (dinner time LOL)

Three years ago in NZ, the last Christmas I had the boarding kennels, one of the vet clinics sent around a letter to all kennels in the region that the vaccination protocol was changed and that many dogs would now be vaccinated every three years instead of annually so this should be acceptable to the kennels. I thought this was really fantastic of them - especially since I'd suggested the idea to them Puppy shots x 2, minimal booster (C3) @ 13-14 months then nothing. Not knowing any better my 3 girls had the 12 month heartworm shot last December (new immigants :D) but they won't be getting that again.

Peanuts are a legume not a nut so peanut butter is fine - moderation in all things though!

I think it's way too soon to say the situation isn't working - you've had the pups less than 2 days! But that said, IMO two puppies together is a bad idea (even though I've done it myself) Is it possible to return one of the pups and just concentrate on raising one well at the moment? It may seem harsh to return a pup, but they've been gone from the breeder for such a short time that it shouldn't affect them or the litter.

Get that puppy out into the world Hopefully we're not talking about a St Bernard puppy, anything else I reckon you could carry quite safely. Take him to malls, supermarkets, outside schools etc etc etc. Hold him in your arms and monitor and control who pats him and how they interact with him. He can go on the ground on concrete in a general shopping mall/car park type situation but I wouldn't take him anywhere near any park or green-strip where people are likely to exercise their dogs. Some say below the high-tide mark on the beach is safe too. Let him meet well behaved dogs and as already suggested, specifically ask about vaccinations before he interacts with any other dog. I have never heard of anyone being told to keep a puppy inside until it's 16 weeks old - he should at the very least be allowed into your own back yard?

Just going to answer 4. You can stuff a kong with all sort of raw things but frankly I wouldn't bother IF you are feeding big chunks. If you're feeding a minced raw diet or barf patties then yep, stick it in the kong, but if you're intending to hand over 1/2 a rabbit then the kong is redundant really. Enjoy the new pup!

Ouch, don't fancy that as a long term solution! There is a fish & sweet potato commercial food - I don't know who makes it sorry. I raw feed so it pains me to make the suggestion let alone know more than this Maybe it's not available at your end of the world, maybe not suitable and maybe not cheaper but it might be worth a look? An internet friend in the USA has a dog with a major allergy issue, she is also a vegetarian so won't even try raw feeding but uses this dry food and it works fine. A really novel protein like the camel suggested might quicken the process but definitely one for the vet/dermatologist.

In addition to crate training him, once he is crate trained take him and his crate to some busy and/or noisy place and see how he reacts in the crate while there's a lot of noise going on. Some dogs trained later in life are fine so long as there's not too much happening, so test him out first. Also, is he a very protective dog? Protective of "his" things? If so he may not like strangers coming around him when he's in the crate, so try him on this too (the freight handlers will be pushing, lifting, moving the crate with him in it). Don't make a big deal out of it - dogs don't know they're flying so he'll probably just think he's in a weird new car, but if you're stressed and nervous he will pick this up from you. Rescue Remedy for both migh help :-)

In your original posit you said "when I am at home I try to have him inside with me, but sometimes he just doesn't want to come inside." I was saying I would not give him the option of "preferring" to be outside WHEN YOUR HOME. When he's older and house trained, sure - but for now he needs to have very clear boundaries or he won't ever figure out the inside-outside thing Yes, the mental stimulation of puppy school will tire him out as quick as any physical exercise. Just before bed is a great time to do some basic obedience.